This is America Calling: French Resistance

The United States of America is not simply the most powerful economic and military force ever known, it is also a state of mind, a culture which has profoundly affected the rest of the world. To invoke 'America' is to invoke myth, history, fear and desire all at once. In this series of programs,writers, journalists, sound artists and documentary producers from Australia, Europe and the U.S. explore the idea of America.

Transcript

An exploration of ideas and attitudes developed in the United States that have shaped the way we live (& play). A four part series from the BBC World Service.

Part 3 The French Resistance

The French have long embodied the extremes of the love/hate relationship many non-Americans have with the USA. On the one hand, the French and Americans have a revolution and a republic in common, while on the other, a passionate sense of French nationalism breeds a resistance to a perception of American economic and cultural imperialism. In this program, French politicians, intellectuals and activists debate the good and the bad things about a country that none of us can ignore.

Part 4 Malls and McDonalds

In the many developing countries, the development of shopping malls and the arrival of McDonalds are not signs of American cultural imperialism, but rather indicators of a modernising economy and the rise of an urbanised, educated middle class. We go to India to see how local people have welcomed these developments